Is anyone else pretending to be you?

With all the talk about identity theft, this tidbit of information came as a surprise to me. You are permitted (both in the US and Canada) by law to request for free, a written copy of your credit report once a year (by mail).

Why should you care? Because it will list, among other things, information about every loan, credit card and line of credit you've taken out in the last six years – whether you regularly pay on time, your balances owing, what your limit is on each account. It will list all authorized credit grantors who have accessed your file. Have you been denied credit and don't know why? The report should make it clearer. Is someone trying to steal your identity? Your report could have warning signs. There may be mistakes on your file that could make it tougher for you to get credit. In Canada, there are 2 credit bureaus, Equifax and Trans Union of Canada. The goverment of Alberta has more information on this topic here.